Ad Hoc Dinner

Sometimes, the unplanned dinners are the best (or at least healthiest). Nothing like throwing together a salad (with homemade dressing of course!) and some hummus veggies when there's nothing else in the fridge to make. It is unfortunate that, after a meal like this, Jason will get hungry in a couple hours and want to eat all sorts of unhealthy snacks at night. C'est la vie.

On the other hand, the little guy seems pretty satisfied with his equally-vegetarian meal:Pureed peas and brocolli, pureed cauliflower, and mixed-grain cereal. Yum.

This post is probably of no interest to anyone except for me--just wanted a record for myself of a regular dinner at home. Happy Friday!

Playing Hookie

Today, I left work at noon, left the baby in daycare, and spent the afternoon with a friend I only get to see once or twice a year. It was great. We chatted over tapas and a mid-day cocktail. We talked about life, and relationships, and changes, and our 20-something years. It made me feel like I was 20 again...or maybe more like 25.

Five years ago, at 25, I was completely unattached, finishing up my second year of law school, returning from a month of field research in Cambodia, and looking forward to a summer in San Francisco. Now, I work part-time with refugees, am a full-time mom, and spend my time cooking, baking, cleaning, crafting, and enjoying my family. Such different seasons, each special in its own way.

There's nothing like spending an afternoon with an old friend to remind me that I am grateful for friendships and the different seasons of life.

Happy Birthday Sandy!

For a good friend's birthday, I found this neat little jewelry rack at The Shoppe at Laboure, a little boutique shop at my work where all proceeds go to Catholic Charities. I thought the rack was super cute, and (hopefully) useful too.

To add a personal touch, I made her these earrings:
Now that I have less time to spend browsing through bead shops and looking for those special few that inspire an idea, it's been nice to have some materials stored up from before and ready to use. I bought these glass beads in 2007 from a store in Taiwan. Hope she likes them!

A Pleasant Discovery

Yesterday, I took Collin to this wonderful little shop in North Cambridge: The Cambridge Quilt Shop. I had found it on-line, and wasn't sure what it would be like. It turned out to be a really great find--the staff were friendly and helpful, they have a wide array of fabrics (some cut into 1/4 yd squares to better serve quilting needs), and there were multiple works-in-progress during my short Thursday afternoon visit. As an added bonus, there's a little knitting shop right next door!

Now, if I can only find the time to start on the quilting project I've had on hold for the last year...

Happy 1st Birthday Aidan!!

I love Sennelier pastels! They go on so smooth and easy.

The main difference between these two pieces is that I primed Collin's piece with a blue base, and added the colored squares on top of that. Aidan's was done purely on the white paper, without a base color. While, in some ways, the color tones on Collin's are a little more cohesive, the base coloring does dull the colors a bit. Overall, I think I prefer the brightness of working directly on the white paper.

These are so fun to make!

Homemade Salad Dressing

It's hard to go back to store-bought salad dressing after making your own. The flavors are so much richer when the ingredients are fresh. Here are two that I've really liked: miso-ginger dressing and good ol' balsamic vinaigrette.

I found that the miso-ginger recipe was a little too thick--it was more like a dip than a dressing. I would cut down on one carrot and maybe half the amount of miso and ginger as well (or alternatively, increase the amount of oil). Haven't tried this tweak, so not sure how it would taste.

There are a lot of recipe variations on the balsamic vinaigrette. This is the one I use, because it's just so easy (and tastes so good!):

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic minced
pinch of fresh ground pepper

Next on my list: Lemon-shallot vinaigrette.

Hello Spring

Somehow, it's been five months since I "revived" this blog. The little guy is over seven months old now, and the smell and feel of spring is in the air. There's something wonderful about the seasons, marking the different stages and rhythms of life. It got me thinking that I really should be more routine about blogging, if nothing more than to keep a record for myself of the small and simple things that I enjoy.

There's no way to catch up on the last five months in one blog...but here are some snap shots of my favorite little projects:

Hats, hats, hats for the holidays!


Amy Butler fabrics to brighten up the wintry months...


Oil pastels for some kiddie wall art...


And a little prelude to my summer gardening ambitions...

Happy Spring!